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Religion essay on abortion
Abortion debate a level religion essay
Pro-choice vs pro-life debate
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Church Views on Abortion Roman Catholics believe abortion is always wrong as it goes against the natural process of childbirth (and therefore against the will of God). The strongest biblical evidence used against abortion is the prohibition to commit murder (Exodus 20:13) and the teaching that it is God alone who should be the giver and taker of life ('... because he himself gives all [people] life and breath and everything else' (Acts 17:25 NIV)). Christians who are against abortion believe human life is sacred. For these people the embryo/foetus is human (or a potential human), and should be give full human rights. 'You shall not kill by abortion the fruit of the womb and you shall not murder the infant already born' (The Didache - early Christian manual). Life is considered to be present from the moment of conception and Roman Catholics (and many other Christian groups believe) ‘thou shalt not kill’ as the primary reason for the condemnation of abortion. Another issue for the Roman Catholics is t...
The Christian view, that we are created in the image of God, formed by Him in the womb making us human upon conception, makes abortion wrong. It shows what abortion truly is, murder. Murder that is the sacrifice of a human life to the ‘god’ of convenience. While abortion may seem to solve immediate problems for some, this act is wrong and has consequences much worse than the consequences, joys, of having and raising a
Also, mothers carry the baby in their womb for so long, and getting rid of it is wrong on so many levels. In the mainstream Christianity, abortions are not considered in the bible, but it is not viewed as something good. However, the Catholic and Orthodox Church oppose late-term abortion in almost every situation. Hinduism has many varied views towards it, but the original and traditional text condemns elective abortions. In the Islamic faith, late-term abortion is not permissible because it is over four months of pregnancy.
The Roman Catholic Catechism teaches that at the moment a sperm enters an egg, a life is formed, so, “a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person” (“Catechism of the Catholic Church”). The Church also condemns abortion for any reason, because it is considered murder, a crime, a grave evil, and a mortal sin. Also, elective abortion for personal or social convenience is forbidden by some religious groups, but many religious denominations believe that there are certain circumstances where abortion is justified: “... a pregnancy that threatens the life of the mother or that has come about as the result of rape or incest” ("Religious Groups’ Official Positions on Abortion"). Such a view is sanctioned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Episcopal Church; Evangelical Lutheran Church; Hinduism; Islam; and Judaism. Although there is conflict between religious denominations over the issue on what is morally right on abortion, many agree on the importance of the well being of the mother in considering whether or not it is ethically right to
The relentless support of abortion is always contradicting the moral and good teachings of the Church. Through passed laws, pro-choice supporters have made it possible for many women to have abortions. In some countries, including the United States, there does not have to be a reason for a woman to have an abortion early in the pregnancy. The Supreme Court in the United States ruled that the fetus’s ability to live was between about twenty four weeks to twenty-six weeks (Glendon 22). These laws show that supporters of abortion do not believe that life begins at conception. This is contrary to the teachings of the Church. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). God knew us before we were conceived. He made us accord...
We as Catholics are taught to show respect and protect human life from the moment of conception. From conception, the embryo must be defended, cared for, loved for, and healed, as much as possible, like any other human being should be. God gives life from the moment of conception and we don't have the right to take it away.
In 1990, the number of abortions in the U.S increased in number to 1.55 million a year and remained at this level for about 10 years(NRLC 2). After all this time, it seems that mankind has finally started to realize the dignity of a human person. The Catholic Church teaches formal participation in the act of an abortion is a grave offense and that since the time of the First Century, the Church has declared righteous evil of every performed abortion(Catechism of the Catholic Church 548). The Catholic moral law of the church is that "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish. God, the Lord of Life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men mus...
For many years, the morality of abortion has been questioned by two perspectives: pro-choice and pro-life. While modern culture explains that abortion is a woman’s free choice if she does not want the unborn baby, the Catholic Church teaches the world that from the moment of conception there is a child with a soul within the womb, and to abort it would be to murder an innocent being.
In contrast, Pro-Choice means those who argue everybody has the right to decide if they wish to seek an abortion or not. Glenn I. Cohen, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, argues that Pro-Life advocates firmly stand on the concept of, “Fetuses are persons and have some of the rights of persons from early on in their development, particularly the right of inviolability” (88). Christians and other religious groups confidently believe an embryo transforms into a human being as soon as conception occurs. What this means is that once the male sperm connects with the female egg, that is when the embryo becomes a living person and any abortion that takes place is killing a human being. In contrast, scientifically the newly found embryo is not a human at all, but just a bunch of cells dividing.
In the Book of Exodus, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, and Exodus 20:13 states that “Thou Shall Not Kill.” Now, there are a lot of questions on when does life start after the fertilization of the ovum by sperm. Christians believe that when a sperm and ovum unite to become a zygote, it has established the life of a new human being(s). Christians also believe that the life of a child in the womb is God’s creation and people should not determine the worth and dignity of the child’s life both before and after birth. We are all created in the image of God (Imago Dei), regardless of their sexual orientation and phenotypical
Although the Bible ; the old testament used by Jewish believers; both the new and old testaments used by Christian believers, does not specifically deal with abortion it does place validity on life before birth. Exodus 21:22-23 says: If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise (Quest NIV pg.235). Though this does not directly say abortion is wrong it does say that the loss of the fetus, "giving birth prematurely", should be punished. Whether by a fine or by taking that man's life as well. This shows that God considers the fetus to be alive and the unnatural death to be murder. The words that emphasize the value of fetus life are "take life for life" meaning the fetus is alive. Other verses that show the validity of life before birth are Psalms 139:13-17: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them (Quest NIV pg.678)! These explain that God has a plan for each personÕs life before they are even formed. They say how He cares so much for each one of us that He watches over us while we are still in the womb.
life is part of god's. In the Bible, chapter of (Romans 14:18) it states "If we
In examining religious opinions on abortion, one must find common ground on which to form a foundation of comparison. With most of the religions to date, that common ground lies on the argument of whether or not a fetus is an actual person. Some religions protest by saying a fetus isn't a conscious being -- therefore there is no loss in doing away with it. But for those religions that do believe there is a life -- or any spiritual being -- in a fetus, it is clearly a crime to have an abortion.
There are many different views of abortion. The Libertarian view states that a fetus is not a human until it is socially responsive after birth. A person with a conservative view believes that abortion is justified if the mother’s life is in danger. The potentiality view says abortion should not be allowed because the unborn fetus is an “it” because it is not a person, therefore abortion should be allowed. The evolving value view says that the moral standing evolves toward the end. A person with the moderate view says that abortion is based on circumstances, such as rape. A person with the ensoulment view believes abortion is wrong because it goes against their religious views.
Religious groups, however, have very different views since they believe that the destruction of a human embryo is equivalent to murder and that embryos should be valued as actual people.They also believe that god should solely be allowed to create human beings and that if humans try to play gods part it's a sin and it's against nature.Religious groups also believe that “personhood” starts at conception making the egg an living thing and the destruction of it is unnatural .They believe that it's unethical to kill one person, in this case,
As stated multiple times; Psalm 139:13-16, speaks of God’s active role in or creation and formation in the womb, therefore this states God makes all fetus/ people for a certain reason and this means God does not want abortion otherwise why would he make them. Exodus 21:22-25, prescribes the same penalty, death, for someone who causes the death of a baby in the womb as for someone who commits murder, this clearly indicates that God then considers a fetus/ baby in the womb as to be the same as a full-grown adult, this then means God indicates abortion is wrong. Christian’s beliefs of abortion is it not a matter of a woman’s right to choose, it is a matter of the life or death of a human being made in God’s image, Genesis 1:26-27, 9:6. The first argument that fights against the Christian stance on abortion is “What about cases of rape and/or incest?” two wrongs do not make a right. The child who is born of rape/incest could be given in adoption to a loving family and are unable to have children on their own. The baby is innocent therefore should not be punished for the acts of its father. The Roman Catholic Church says abortion is a grave moral wrong. As based on the written word of God and natural law, as they prohibit abortion under any circumstances, "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the new born to perish". As